Honeywell Tech Can Help Aviation Industry Halve CO2 Emissions

Two Honeywell Aerospace technologies — the SmartPath Ground-Based Augmentation System and the EGTS electric taxiing system — have been recognized by the Air Transport Action Group as solutions that can help support the aviation industry’s goal to cut CO2 emissions in half by 2050 against a 2005 baseline.

Honeywell’s SmartPath GBAS system augments GPS signals so they can be used for precise navigation in the approach and landing phases of flight. The flexibility provided by GBAS may produce a significant reduction of carbon emissions, increase airport capacity, decrease air traffic noise, reduce weather-related delays and reduce operating costs for aircraft operators and air navigation service providers. The project is a component of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Next Generation Air Transportation System.

The EGTS electric taxiing system, developed by Honeywell and Safran, enables aircraft to avoid using their main engines during taxiing and instead taxi autonomously under their own electrical power. Similar to a hybrid car using electrical power at slow speeds, EGTS will improve airline operating efficiency during taxi operations and cut fuel consumption by up to 4 percent per flight cycle. EGTS will reduce noise, eliminate up to 61 percent of carbon dioxide and up to 51 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions during taxi operations, among other benefits. EasyJet was the first airline to trial the taxiing system.

The technologies were included in the Aviation Climate Solutions report, a collection of 100 examples of how the aviation industry is collaborating to cut carbon dioxide emissions and help reduce its impact on climate change.

The Aviation Climate Solutions report was released at the Global Sustainable Aviation Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, to reaffirm the industry’s commitment to climate action, and calls on governments to support it with the development of a global market-based measure for aviation emissions, improved efficiency in air traffic management and accelerating research for alternative fuels and new technology.